Another Game
by Pokeshipper-Reborn
Summary: Tragedy shatters the peaceful, post-Game life of Shiki Misaki as death claims Neku once again. With him barred from the Reaper's Game, Neku's second chance rests on her shoulders. Neku/Shiki, Shiki's POV.
1. Despair

A deafening screech split the silent winter air. Time slowed to a crawl. In slow motion, I saw the black truck at the edge of my vision. It hurtled forward, unstoppable, oblivious to the efforts of its brakes. Barreling straight toward me.

Suddenly, a hand slammed into my back. Shoved me forward, out of the truck's path. Its owner was beyond my sight, but I knew who it was.

I stumbled onto the sidewalk, Mr. Mew falling from my hands. Behind me, I heard it. The sound carried along the rushing air of the truck's wake.

A sickening crunch.

And he was gone.

* * *

**Another Game**

**A World Ends With You Fanfic**

**Chapter 1: Despair**

* * *

Earlier

"Yo, Phones! We been waitin' for, like, _days, _man!"

"Shut up, Beat. You only called me ten minutes ago."

"Yeah, well... we still been waitin'! Ain't that right, Rhyme?"

"Umm..."

"Don't drag her down to your level, Beat. Or, should I say, _Daisukenojo_-"

"Bwaaaah! Shaddup, Phones! You _wanna _get back in the Game?"

I tried to fight down a giggle as I watched the two guys fight. As usual, I failed. And as usual, they were way too caught up in their squabble to notice. Rhyme turned toward me, though, and shrugged. That gesture had come to universally mean, "They're impossible." She was using it a lot lately.

_'These two were partners for a _week_?'_ I asked myself, watching Beat howl at an impassive Neku. _'How on earth did they survive?'_

Most days, I would have been happy to let them duke it out until they wore down. Today, though, we had to get moving. And I had brought just the tool for the job. I motioned at Rhyme to be quiet as I took off my backpack. She tilted her head quizzically, but stayed silent.

Neku had told me a lot about what happened in his second and third weeks of the Game. That was where I had gotten the idea for breaking up his and Beat's battle. I carefully pulled the key component of my strategy from my backpack: a megaphone.

I shot quick looks right and left. The street in front of Towa Records was pretty empty, but this was still going to make a scene. '_Better make it quick.' _First, a deep breath. Then, at the top of my lungs into the megaphone:

"Sine! Cosine! TANGENT!" The response was immediate.

"Bwaah! What the-"

"Pi-face! Where-"

Neku whirled around, panic written all over his face. Beat all but fell over in shock. The sight was so comical, I doubled over in laughter. Rhyme was right there with me. I could almost see the gears spinning in Neku's head as he tried to piece it together.

"Shiki... you... megaphone... but... huh?" The look on his face was priceless. The urge to laugh hit me again, but we had started to get weird looks from the other passerby. Rhyme bent over to help Beat to his feet. He was still spluttering things no one could understand. The guy looked seriously freaked. I filed this trick away for future reference. It was definitely a winner.

But for now, there were more important things to worry about. I grabbed Neku by the wrist and dragged him along with me, ignoring his cries of confused protest. "Come on, the movie is gonna start soon!"

"Oh, yeah!" He sounded sheepish, as though he'd actually forgotten the reason that we all met up. "But what about Beat and-"

"They'll catch up," I interrupted. We were running late enough as it was. We had never been the best organized group of friends in the three months since we came back to the RG. I knew that. Neku still had some trouble letting down his walls – though he was getting better – and Beat was always getting caught up in some trouble or other. But we'd managed to stick together so far.

If their immature fighting meant that we didn't make it to this movie, though, I might send them back to the UG myself.

I let go of Neku's arm to weave my way through the thick Shibuya crowd. The theater wasn't far, just a couple of blocks over. We would probably still be able to make it before tickets sold out.

A bustling intersection blocked the way. I impatiently looked both ways across the street, waiting for an opening. Mr. Mew – I was never without him – was pressed against my chest. My old partner struggled through the throng of people behind me.

A break in traffic appeared. I jumped on the opportunity, hurrying into the middle of the street.

Neku's voice called out from behind me. "Shiki, look out!"

A deafening screech split the silent winter air. Time slowed to a crawl. In slow motion, I saw the black truck at the edge of my vision. It hurtled forward, unstoppable, oblivious to the efforts of its brakes. Barreling straight towards me.

Suddenly, a hand slammed into my back. Shoved me forward, out of the truck's path. Its owner was beyond my sight, but I knew who it was.

I stumbled onto the sidewalk, Mr. Mew falling from my hands. Behind me, I heard it. The sound carried along the rushing air of the truck's wake.

A sickening crunch.

And he was gone.

* * *

Everything afterward was a blur.

A panic in the streets. People screaming, children crying. Rhyme's hand on my shoulder. Sirens. A man in some kind of uniform – police, or a doctor – insisting I stand up. Beat punching him in the face. Another panic. More yelling.

None of it registered. It all pooled together, just a cacophony of frenzied, disconnected, meaningless noises. Every one of them was proof, was salt in the wound.

Because in all those sounds, all those voices, the only one I didn't hear was _his_. The one person I needed to hear.

The pavement rushed up to meet me as my world went black.

* * *

**Two Days After the Accident**

"_You have eleven new messages. Message One:"_

"_Shiki? Shiki, it's me, Eri. Listen… I know that you're really in no mood to talk right now. But I want you to know that we're all here for yo-"_

"_Message deleted. Message Two:"_

"_Yo, uh, Shiki… it's Beat. Umm… I'm really sorry 'bout Phones… me and Rhyme are taking it pretty har-"_

"_Message deleted. Message Three:"_

"_Attention Shiki Misaki. You have four overdue-"_

"_Message deleted. Message Fo-"_

I shut the phone. There was no way I could bear to hear all these well-wishers. The cell slipped from my hand to the floor as I buried my head in the pillow, and the tears started flowing anew.

* * *

**Five Days After the Accident**

_"____You have sixty-seven new messages. Message One:"_

_"____Hey… uh, this is Rhyme. Shiki, we're getting really worried. Nobody's seen you since Neku… well… just, please talk to us. I'm afraid-"_

_"____Message deleted. Message Two:"_

_"____Shiki, it's Eri again. Why won't you respond to my messages? I've called you so many times… I just really need to talk-"_

_"____Message deleted. Message Three:"_

_"____Dammit, Shiki! He's gone, 'aight? He's gone, and they ain't lettin' 'im back inta th' Game! There's nothin' we can do 'bout it! So enough'a your damn sulking. You think this is what he'd want! You oughtta know Phones better than that! Rhyme's all but cryin' herself to sleep, worryin' about __you____! So at least come out an' talk to us. You gotta trust us that much at least."_

_"____End of message. To save it in the arch-"_

I clenched onto Mr. Mew hard enough that the stitching I had put so much time and heart into began to rip. I couldn't see it through the tears.

What hurt the most was that I knew he was right.

* * *

**Seven Days After the Accident**

"_You have one hundred and eight new messages. Messa-"_

Today, I didn't even have the energy to listen to the first few. They would all say the same things, anyway.

Today was my last shred of hope. For the first time in a week, I had left – in fact, _stormed_ out of my house, not even stopping to acknowledge my stunned parents. The only place, the only thing in my mind, was Hachiko.

The Reaper's Game was seven days long. If, by some miracle, he had played in this Game, and won – and he would win, I knew. There was no way he could ever lose. If he won, he would know this was the place. If he won, this would be the day.

I sat down in front of the statue – the same place we first met – and waited.

The sun rose to its peak in the sky. Clouds moved in to obscure it. Rain began to fall; first softly, then a downpour. I didn't care. I had to be here. _He _had to be here.

Eventually, the clouds left the sky. Behind them was revealed the moon.

He hadn't come.

With a start, I realized the phone in my hands was buzzing. In hindsight, it had rung time and again while I sat there. I had never noticed.

This time it was a text message.

"_I'm sorry about Phones. Come by the café. My treat, for real this time. S. Hanekoma"_

I simply stared at the screen blankly. Then, almost without realizing it, my legs lifted me and I began to walk.

* * *

The coffee was good, as always. But I couldn't taste it. True to his word, Mr. H. hadn't tried to charge me. In fact, he hadn't said a single word since I came in. Neither had I. He had simply set a cup of coffee in front of me and gone back to cleaning dishes. It was well past closing time; no one else would be coming in.

The silence was suffocating. Every now and again, I saw him glance at me out of the corner of my eye. He would always shake his head and move on to the next cup. I drained my glass. He wordlessly refilled it. It went on like this for nearly half an hour.

Finally, I couldn't take any more. I spoke, my voice rough and cracked. "Why isn't he back?"

Hanekoma gazed at me solemnly for a moment. Then, he set down the dish he was wiping off and answered. "For one thing, the Reaper's Game isn't held every week. But Neku was barred from ever participating again. I thought he told you."

I shook my head furiously. "No! No, he told me, but so what? Kitaniji was lying when he said that was the Composer's decision. And anyway, couldn't you make Joshua-"

"I'm not going to make the Composer do anything. That's not how I work. And you're right, that decision was not made by Him – but it was within Kitaniji's authority at the time, and I doubt He sees any reason to overrule it." With that, he turned away from me, so I couldn't see his face.

"You see, Joshua likes games. Especially when the stakes are high. Neku's ban was a result of one of His games, and He abides by His own rules. Besides, He wouldn't see any purpose in having Neku run the Game again. Phones has already proven he can take down anything the Reapers can throw at him. Joshua may like Neku, but that's not enough reason to bring him back."

I could feel the sadness and regret in his voice. But I didn't want to hear it. I didn't have any words left to speak, or tears left to cry. I could only sit in that chair and shake.

I could feel his eyes on me. I didn't care. I was too caught up in my own thoughts. The things I had refused to think about for the last week all flooded me at once.

I remembered meeting Neku in front of Hachiko, wearing Eri's face. Him snubbing me off until he had no choice. Neku, raising me off the ground, ready to kill me to escape the Game. All the struggles and sadness and laughs that filled our seven days as partners.

Over those days, I felt so happy as Neku started to open up. As he started to trust me, I felt connected to him in a way I had never felt before. It wasn't just the pact. When he found out the truth, that the "me" he saw was actually Eri, he told me, "I like you for who you are." It was the first time anyone had told me that. I felt like grabbing onto him and never letting go. He seemed even closer to me than Eri had ever been.

The way my heart soared when we met – apparently two weeks later – and he told me I had been his entry fee. I waved my hands and spluttered, but inside I was the happiest I had ever been. And now, this last week, I had found out that life without him wasn't worth living. It was worse than death. After everything he had done for my sake, I couldn't help him.

Under all these memories and revelations, I could only shake in my seat, wracked with dry sobs. I nearly spilled the coffee in front of me. I knew Mr. Hanekoma was watching, but he stayed silent.

Until I heard him just barely breathe, "Maybe."

I caught my breath as he turned on his heel and strode to the back room. Straining my ears, it seemed like he was talking on the phone. I couldn't hear his words.

After a few minutes, he walked slowly back into the main room. Under his arm, he carried a small box.

I gathered my voice enough to ask, "Well?"

Mr. H sighed. "A Reaper's Game will be held starting tomorrow."

My heart lifted, just a little. Just a tiny spark of hope. "Neku…?"

He averted his eyes. "Will not be participating." Before I could respond, he added, "However… I proposed an unusual suggestion to Joshua. He's accepted the challenge." He set down the box on the counter before turning around to hide his face again. "Open it."

I hesitantly lifted the lid of the container. The shape inside was unmistakable.

"The Composer is willing to allow Shiki Misaki to participate in the Game on behalf of Neku Sakuraba."

A pistol rested innocently in the box.

"I told you. Joshua likes even games with high stakes. Phones may have proven himself well beyond the level of the Reaper's Game, but you're still a fairly average Player. This time, you'll be fighting for Neku's second chance. It's your choice, either way."

* * *

******A/N: I just stayed up 'til 3:30 AM writing this fic. I don't have the energy for much of an author's note. I know I'm mainly a Pokemon author, but I played TWEWY and went "Wow, this is awesome, I'ma go write a fic about it."**

******The continuation of this will be left up to my readers. I'm proud of my writing here, but a bit more on the fence with the actual story. So, let me know with that nifty little review button.**

******Disclaimer: I don't own The World Ends With You. If I did, it would already have three sequels and a movie tie-in.**

******Thanks for reading and see ya later, fanfic-reading radians.**


	2. Emptiness and

**Chapter 2: Emptiness and**

* * *

By the time I'd reached my destination, it was nearly one in the morning. My legs burned in protest. I had never been athletic, and the walk from Hanekoma's cafe was a lot longer than I'd thought. He'd offered to drive me, but for some reason I just felt like I had to come on my own. Maybe I needed more time to sort out my thoughts – to prepare myself for what I was about to do.

Whatever the reason was, I was here.

I'd only been to Neku's apartment once before, not long after we all got back from the UG. On that day, Beat, Rhyme and I had come to pick him up, just to hang out, and they'd nominated me to go up and let him know we were here. I'd stood there, staring at the door just like I was doing now – seemingly a lifetime later – trying to work past some irrational fear to knock. Beat called out from the parking lot, "What're you waitin' for, Shiki? We ain't got all day!" I'd held my breath and quickly rapped twice on the door.

That day, when the door opened, was the first time I saw Neku without his headphones. Before he closed the door behind him, I'd caught just a glimpse of them, laying on the floor, unworn for the first time in a long, long time.

He didn't say anything about it. Neither did I. Nothing needed to be said.

But today, I knew that if I knocked, there would be no Neku to answer the door, smiling that small, soft smile of someone who's finally come out of his own lonely world. There would be no one – only an empty apartment.

My hand trembled more than it should as I reached into my pocket. I felt the tiny shape of the key Mr. H had given me before I left the cafe. On another day, under different circumstances, I would probably have wondered more about how he had managed to procure a key to Neku's apartment. As it was, there were far more important things to think about. With my heart pounding irrationally in my chest, I stuck the key in the lock and turned. The door slowly creaked open.

The inside of the apartment wasn't much. Then again, I suppose I didn't really expect it to be. Both before and after our time in the Reaper's Game, Neku hadn't spent much time here. His room wasn't a complete mess, but it certainly wasn't clean, either. Clothes were strewn about on the floor here and there – including, I noted with a detached sort of irritation, some of the outfits I'd picked out with him. A small stack of CDs sat on a shelf beside his bed. Next to them laid the item I was looking for. I walked forward and picked up the headphones.

They were bulkier than they looked. I slowly hefted them up and down, feeling their weight. I still remember the first time I saw Neku – desperate, searching for someone to make my partner. When I first yelled at him, I'd felt a brief moment of panic, thinking that he couldn't hear me through these.

There were plenty of times in those first few days where I had to question how much of what I said he could actually hear. He was stubborn, he didn't listen, But gradually, little by little, he opened up, and when I talked I knew he was listening, and he talked there were fewer insults and more of his true feelings.

Not only that – he helped me realize _my _true feelings. He was my partner – I trusted him, and he trusted me.

He trusted me – and he fought for me. He saved me. Now it was my turn to save him.

With a surge of resolve, I placed the headphones around my neck. They were heavy, but oddly comfortable – oddly familiar. They reminded me of him. The last of my hesitation faded away. I was ready.

I drew the pistol out of my bag. The metal shape that had made me shiver when I first opened that case in the cafe wasn't so scary anymore.

My hand slowly, steadily rose beside my head. The trigger was cold against my finger.

I closed my eyes.

Deep breath.

In my mind's eye, I saw Neku standing there in the darkness, hand outstretched, smiling his tiny smile.

_Bang_.

* * *

I had never actually met Joshua. I only knew him by how Neku and Beat talked about him, and by the brief moment he appeared in the chambers past the Shibuya River. That scene, at least, was burned into my brain.

So I instantly recognized the person standing in front of me.

Then again, "standing" might not quite be right. He was – both of us were, now that I looked – floating in the middle of... nothing. Just blackness.

He was smiling. One of the things Neku had said the most about Joshua was how infuriating he was whenever he grinned. I had figured it had mostly been him; Neku had been annoyed by pretty much everything during the week we had been partners. But now, seeing that smile for myself, I understood. He looked at me, and it was like he was playing a game, studying a particularly interesting piece. Anticipating how he could move it next.

Breaking my thoughts and the silence, he spoke. "So, you decided to play."

Suddenly, I really didn't want to talk to him. I just wanted to wake up, and start this Game. His eyes bored straight into mine, part condescending, part teasing, part – I'm not even sure what. I wasn't the type to hate people, especially not on first sight, but something about him was trying to set me off.

I knew, though, that I was going to have to answer if I wanted to play. So I would just have to keep it simple. "Yes."

"You know there's no going back if you lose, right? You're dead now. If you fail, you stay that way... and so does Neku."

For some reason, I flinched when he said Neku's name. Maybe it was the way he said it. His tone had been blatantly mischievous up to then, trying to provoke her, but for that last part... it was unreadable. I clenched my fists at my side. "I know that."

His grin widened just a bit. Then he shrugged and threw up his hands, as though it really didn't matter to him either way. He went right back to his original tone. "Well, all right then. As long as that's established." That smile grew just a little bit more. "In that case, there's only one last thing to settle, and I'll let you be off on your merry way."

Those words caught me off guard. "One last thing? What..."

...Oh.

He clearly saw the realization in my eyes. His grin expanded to its full smug size. "So, let's see..." He nonchalantly drew the words out. "What will your entry fee be this time?"

"You want _more_?!" The words exploded from my mouth before I could stop myself. My vision "I just _killed myself_ to participate in your stupid Game, and you're going to make me give up more?"

He chuckled. "Now, now, Shiki, it's only fair. Think of all the other Players. They're dead, too, in case you'd forgotten. Now if you got off scot-free, just because you offed yourself, how would that be fair?"

He was right. I knew he was right, it wouldn't be fair, but I still hated it. Maybe that wouldn't be fair, but this wasn't either.

I felt the weight of the headphones shift around my neck.

It didn't matter. I'd do it. Neku had played three times over for me, even when his fee had been every other Player in the Game. He'd still won. Now it was his life that was in the balance.

I would save Neku. No matter what I had to pay, I'd win the Game, take back my fee, and bring him back. I'd meet him in front Hachiko, hang out with him and Beat and Rhyme, go see movies, drag him to 104 to try on clothes, just walk through the streets of Shibuya together, hand in hand.

I'd make it so he could smile again.

"So, what will it be..?" Joshua mused on. Then he snapped his fingers. "Ah. That's it."

The darkness around us began to encroach. Black mist obscured Joshua's white figure, but not before I saw the smile fall from his face.

"Your entry fee will be _him_."

Blackness swallowed everything. The last image in my mind was Joshua's fading face, no longer teasing, nor condescending, but solemn – almost regretful. He spoke one more time. The words were almost lost in the wave of unconsciousness that overtook my brain, but I heard them.

"Good luck."

* * *

**A/N: Huh. Did I really write chapter 1 _two and a half years ago?_ Damn.**

**Well, hopefully chapter 3 won't take quite that long. That said, next chapter I'll have to make a very, very big decision. Almost as big as choosing Shiki's entry fee (which, by the way, was in no small part responsible for how long it took me to write this).  
**

**Rest assured, it'll probably happen eventually. Probably. Reviews usually help. Probably.**

**See ya around, hectopascals.**


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